Random IM
by kittcoe339
Summary: Robin gets a random IM from a DS. What will happen? CHAPTER 3 IS UP!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So this is another random dabble. Not sure where I'm taking this story, but hope to be updating soon. I'm sure everyone knows who DS is but Robin in this won't know until later. Not too interesting of a chapter, but the next one should be better.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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Robin sat at his desk. The digital clock next to his bed showed around 2:38am. Robin sipped on his coke checking through his emails, while typing a report up for the police. He wasn't tired, at least not mentally. His mind surged forward as his body ached for a rest. He knew he should be sleeping at this hour, like the rest of the team, but couldn't get himself to head to bed. There was too much on his mind and too much for him to do. Besides, being with Batman for so long had really messed with his sleep schedule. He'd yet to adjust to just sleeping at night. Also, night time was the only time he was able to fully be alone without his team worrying about him isolating. He was able to mull over his thoughts in private and plot and plan.

Robin was about to open another email when suddenly an IM box opened by its self.

**DS: Still up?**

Robin wondered who 'DS' was. He'd never chatted with them before. How had they gotten his IM? Or was it a simple mistake?

**Red Bird: I think you've imed the wrong person.**

**DS: No, I know who you are… I was just curious what you were doing up so late?**

Robin sat forward in his chair a bit reading the reply. Whoever "DS" was, they were a wicked fast typer. The message appeared back almost instantly. Robin felt a little unnerved that they were claiming to 'know' him, but honestly, he supposed if they were some creeper, he could just block them or something.

**Red Bird: Who are you?**

**DS: A friend, I supposed. **

**Red Bird: Not very specific are you? How'd you get my im?**

**DS: I typed in your name.**

**Red Bird: Smart aleck.**

**DS: You asked.**

**Red Bird: So specifically, who are you?**

**DS: I'm DS.**

**Red Bird: Guy or Girl?**

**DS: Male.**

**Red Bird: Have I met you before?**

**DS: Yes.**

**Red Bird: How old are you?**

**DS: Take a guess.**

**Red Bird: Height?**

**DS: Taller than you.**

**Red Bird: Eye color?**

**Ds: You don't show your eye color, why do I have to tell you mine?**

**Red Bird: Hair color?**

**DS: White.**

**Red Bird: I don't know anyone with white hair, sorry.**

**DS: You wouldn't remember me by my hair color.**

**Red Bird: What would I remember you by?**

**DS: My style.**

**Red Bird: You sound cocky.**

**DS: Not unlike yourself.**

**Red Bird: I really don't think I know you.**

**DS: You know me. You would know me if you saw me.**

**Red Bird: If you say so.**

There was a pause as if the sender was debating on something. Robin tried racking his brain for any guy with white hair that he knew of. No one came to mind. After a few moments of no response, Robin thought the sender was done with him and so Robin minimized the chat box and begin working on the police report again. He was nearly done with it when the chat box came up again with a reply.

**DS: Have I scared you off already?**

Robin debated silently. He could just ignore the sender and finish his work like a good person, but the sender didn't seem evil, just seemed to be looking for conversation. Robin sighed and typed a reply back.

**Red Bird: No, I'm just busy. What are you doing up this late?**

**DS: Busy as well. Too many things to do during the day that they kind of overflow into the night if you know what I mean.**

**Red Bird: I know exactly what you mean. Too many people and distractions during the day. Sometimes the only real time to get things done are at night.**

**DS: Agreed. Far less distractions during the night. Of course, sleep has to be fitted into the schedule somewhere.**

**Red Bird: If you're tired, you're welcome to go to bed.**

**DS: Thank you for your concern, but I'm not tired. I have an odd sleep schedule. I sleep on days where I don't have to work.**

**Red Bird: When's that?**

**DS: It varies. I work a couple of different jobs. Some are as you would call 'odd' jobs, while others are very demanding and full time.**

**Red Bird: Where do you work?**

**DS: Everywhere. My jobs have no one location. I travel quite a bit, but mostly I stay in Jump.**

**Red Bird: Sounds like a lot of work. I hope they at least pay well.**

**DS: Oh yes, very well. I live quite comfortably. **

**Red Bird: Do you like your jobs?**

**DS: Yes. Do you?**

**Red Bird: Of course.**

**DS: Does your job pay well?**

**Red Bird: I supposed you could say that…**

**DS: How do they pay you? As far as I'm concerned, superheroes don't get paid, do they?**

Robin paused. So the man did know he was Robin? Well, he supposed the username didn't really hide his identity, but still, not many people knew of his im account. He could've been some random fan girl or something. Robin again begin wondering who this guy was. How did he know who he was? Maybe it was a guy that Robin had saved before?

**Red Bird: We are given a place to live. No, we don't ask for money for our services, but the city repays us in other ways.**

**DS: Still wouldn't it be nice to get paid money for your services too?**

**Red Bird: I don't need it.**

**DS: I know. You're financially stable if your career were to ever end.**

**Red Bird: How would you know?**

**DS: Just a guess.**

**Red Bird: You seem to know a lot about me but I don't know much about you.**

**DS: What would you like to know?**

**Red Bird: What do you do for a living?**

**DS: That's personal. I would prefer to keep that unknown.**

**Red Bird: Okay. What do you like to do for fun?**

**DS: I enjoy people watching. I like studying how other's minds work. I also enjoy hunting, fighting, running, and logical puzzles.**

**Red Bird: Interesting mix. What's your favorite kind of logical puzzle?**

**DS: Mazes.**

**Red Bird: I guess I'm more of a crossword kind of person.**

**DS: Interesting.**

**Red Bird: Got a girlfriend?**

**DS: No. You?**

**Red Bird: No.**

**DS: Romance has a funny way of working. No need to go looking for someone. The right person will be there when you're ready.**

**Red Bird: Very motivational. Do you give public speeches?**

**DS: Several to an audience of five.**

**Red Bird: Not very well known or was that a joke?**

**DS: No, I wasn't joking. I have five very loyal audience members, sometimes there's more, of course most of my audience disagrees with what I have to say.**

**Red Bird: Why do they attend your speeches then?**

**DS: They can't seem to stay away. I use reverse psychology to motivate my audience. I tell them something horrible so they'll do something good.**

**Red Bird: You sound a little too smug over there. Maybe I can attend one of your speeches one day and then tell you what I think.**

**DS: I would be honored.**

**Red Bird: Just send me a date and location and I'll come to one of them at least.**

**DS: Not meaning to ruin our conversation, but someone's breaking into the mall right now.**

Almost as soon as Robin got the message the alarm begin to blare to signal the break in.

**Red Bird: On it.**

Robin typed the two words quickly before heading to the Titan's living room to get the rest of his team.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

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The fight at the mall hadn't last very long, but it added to another police report Robin would have to do. As they returned to the Titan's Tower, most everyone went back to sleep, but Robin grabbed another coke from the fridge and went to take his place in front of his computer again. He had to get this police reports in before he went to bed. He wasn't too tired right now anyway.

Robin opened his laptop and begin to work more on the police report, when he noticed there was already a message left from his open IM.

**DS: Have fun with Mad Hatter?**

That was who had broken into the mall. Robin wondered if the guy had been close by, but he couldn't recall anyone sitting on any benches near the mall when they had gotten there. Maybe he'd been walking and typing on his phone and that's how he'd clued Robin into the break in while in the meantime running away.

**Red Bird: Being shipped to jail as we speak.**

Robin replied and then minimized the chat and continued with his original police report. Another message popped up.

**DS: That didn't answer the question.**

**Red Bird: What was the question?**

**DS: I asked if you had 'fun' with taking down the Mad Hatter?**

**Red Bird: It was easy enough.**

**DS: You're avoiding the question again. Easy doesn't equal fun.**

Robin paused. What did this guy want from him? Did he have fun taking out these villains? He supposed it was a little fun, but Robin didn't do the job to have fun, he did it to protect people. So in the end, it didn't matter if it was fun to take on the villain or not. But still, Robin decided to answer the guy and try to get him to stop IMing.

**Red Bird: Yes, I had fun. But I have work to do now.**

**DS: So do I. Perhaps we should talk another time.**

**Red Bird: Sounds good. Working on one of your speeches?**

**DS: Actually, yes, along with other things.**

**Red Bird: Well good luck. Send me that time and location and I'll attend it.**

**DS: I'm sure you'll be there.**

**Red Bird: I will as long as the hero job doesn't get in the way.**

**DS: Who knows, maybe I'll motivate you to have a better sleeping habit.**

**Red Bird: Oh ha ha. You can't be one to talk. Is that what your next speech is over though? Sleeping habits?**

**DS: No, but I won't tell you what it's over. I'll leave that as a surprise for you.**

**Red Bird: Well, good luck on your speech.**

**DS: Oh, I'm sure it will get a reaction from my audience. **

**Red Bird: Good or bad reaction?**

**DS: Probably bad, but as I said. That's the point of my speeches. To make them pissed at me so they'll do something good and prove me wrong.**

**Red Bird: You know, you might have more of an audience if you didn't pissed the off.**

**DS: But it wouldn't be as fun. Plus, as I said before, they can't seem to stay away anyway. They'll always come back.**

**Red Bird: Do you ever just give them a normal motivating speech?**

**DS: Never. They're not looking for a normal motivation speech from me. They expect it to piss them off and possibly even scare them a little.**

**Red Bird: You should surprise them one day with a normal one just to see how they react.**

**DS: They would likely be very confused and angry. They would accuse me of having an alternative motive and likely one might seek out my home address to interrogate me.**

**Red Bird: …What kind of audience do you speak to?**

**DS: They're a peculiar kind of group. Determined to do the right thing, but occasionally need a push to remind them what path to take. They're also very stubborn and rash in decisions sometimes. I try to teach them to be more focused and rational even when emotions are high.**

**Red Bird: Sounds like you give great speeches then. I wonder why only five people only ever come.**

**DS: Well, I host on a private line. I do speeches over the internet. Only people with the private line can see the speech. So, unless they gave other people the private line, it's just going to be them receiving the motivational speeches for now.**

**Red Bird: Oh. **

**DS: Anyway, you and I both have work waiting. I won't keep you from doing your job.**

**Red Bird: Thanks. Talk to you later.**

**DS: Bye.**

Robin returned to doing his police file now completely intrigued by the stranger. He wondered if the stranger did private motivational speeches because he was too shy or too under confident to do one in front of a larger audience. The only motivational speeches Robin ever had was from Bruce or occasionally one of his team members. He also wondered about the audience. The stranger seemed to have some personal connection with the audience. Perhaps he only did speeches for his family or friends? Still why would he aim to piss off his family or friends with his speeches?

Robin considered these questions until all his work was done for the night. It was now around 5am. Robin debated on just heading to the gym and getting a nap later, but decided against it, wanting some sleep in case a villain decided to do something later today. He would need to be at his best to fight off villains. So Robin laid down pondering the stranger's conversation as he drifted to sleep.

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**AN: Sorry for the looooong wait. I've been super busy. Hopefully, I'll start getting some chapters out more quickly now.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Red Bird: How's that speech coming?**

**DS: A little rough still. I'm working on perfecting it. I'll probably have it done by tomorrow.**

**Red Bird: When will you be presenting?**

**DS: Tomorrow.**

**Red Bird: Well, you've got quite a dead line then, huh?**

**DS: So it would seem.**

**Red Bird: I guess I'll leave you to it.**

**DS: Did you contact me for a reason?**

**Red Bird: What?**

**DS: You contacted me this time. Usually I'm the one who contacts you. Did you contact me for a reason this time?**

**Red Bird: I was just checking up on you.**

**DS: How thoughtful. I'm doing fine.**

**Red Bird: That's good.**

**DS: Nothing else though?**

**Red Bird: Just a little bored, I guess.**

**DS: I see. No bad guys to beat up today?**

**Red Bird: No, the city seems pretty quiet actually. I don't know if I'm just paranoid or if something's up.**

**DS: Isn't it a good thing that the city's quiet?**

**Red Bird: Of course. Not to worry.**

**DS: I wasn't worried. I was just curious on why you would be worried if everything's is quiet.**

**Red Bird: You're right. It's nothing.**

**DS: I think something's about to happen too.**

**Red Bird: You do?**

**DS: It's always quiet before a storm. One can never be too prepared in Jump City. It's not your paranoia acting up, it's your instinct.**

**Red Bird: My friends think differently.**

**DS: Your friends rely on their powers to keep them alive. Without powers, you're more in tune with your survival instinct than them. Not to say they're bad at what they do, but you have been doing this since you were around ten or so.**

**Red Bird: That's true. Still, whether something's coming or not, I supposed I should just relax while I can.**

**DS: I would spend my time researching if I were in your position.**

**Red Bird: Researching what?**

**DS: Where the villains are likely hiding who are not behind bars, and possibilities of where they will strike next. Such as… Are there any new weapons being made at Wayne enterprise? Any new technology coming out in Stark Industries? Any new gem shows that are being shipped right now?**

**Red Bird: That's a good point, but my friends say I should relax. I've kinda been obsessive over catching the bad guys lately.**

**DS: I don't see how that's a bad thing. Shouldn't you all be working as hard as you can to catch the bad guys before they cause destruction, instead of while they're in the middle of it?**

**Red Bird: I thought so too, but I supposed they're getting worried because it's interfering with my sleep schedule.**

**DS: Which villain in particular are you looking for?**

**Red Bird: Don't worry about it. We'll find them all and put them behind bars in no time.**

**DS: I'm not worried. I'm curious. I just wanted to know if there's one in particular on your mind that's causing disturbance in your sleep.**

**Red Bird: I don't feel comfortable worrying a citizen.**

**DS: I understand. However, you should know, I'm not a normal citizen.**

Robin paused when he got this message. This message could only mean a couple of things. One, DS was saying he was a hero or vigilante. Two, he was a criminal. Three, he was just trying to offer help despite being a citizen because he could sympathize with how hard they worked. Or four, he was a spy.

Robin looked at the positive sides and the negative sides of the arguments and went over what he knew of about DS. The man had said he was a motivational speaker that often pissed off his audience of five to get them to do good things. Meaning he was skillful in using reverse psychology. He said he worked all over the place but had refused to give a job description. He'd told about someone robbing the mall, but hadn't stopped it himself. He seemed very curious on Robin's sleep patterns since it had been mentioned not once but a couple of times in the conversations so far. He knew of Robin being a hero despite Robin's username being Red Bird. All of this seemed to point Robin towards spy or criminal. He ruled out hero since the guy had not stopped the mall robbery himself. He still wasn't sure about sympathetic citizen since that was still a possibility, however it didn't seem likely that a citizen would know his IM account or be so secretive when it came to their job. Then there was the fact that Robin had a nagging suspicion the audience of five thing that had been said a lot were meaning the Teen Titans were the audience, since there was only five Teen Titans. Meaning, this guy had to be a criminal. But which one?

Robin couldn't pinpoint which criminal had sent him this IM, but he started again with what he knew. White hair, male, and taller than Robin. He knew the man was cocky, very observant, and seemed like a smooth talker. He had told Robin that Robin wouldn't recognize him though his appearance but rather his style. He had said they were friends, but that could've just been manipulation. Then there was the fact that whoever this criminal was had obviously been trying to tell him he was a criminal this whole time. He'd given Robin all the clues to put together, either that or he was just plain dumb. But what criminal would try to talk to him like this and give away that they're a criminal? If they had really been after information, Robin thought they'd been more careful about the information they gave out about themselves. Spy was officially rules out because they'd given so much information.

Robin couldn't help his mind going to Slade automatically. He couldn't tell if it was because he always had Slade on his mind or if it was because the smooth talking the DS had reminded him of Slade. But as he thought about it, all things feel into place. He wouldn't recognize Slade by appearance because he'd never seen Slade without his mask. He was cocky, observant, and a smooth talker. Robin didn't know what Slade did in his down time, so it was possible he had more than one job. But he stopped when he'd thought of the reverse psychology. Slade was just evil. He didn't do bad things to make the Titans do good things, so that part didn't make sense, unless of course he'd been lying. Then there was the fact that Slade was always brilliant at coming up with master plans and this just didn't seem his style nor did he seem dumb enough to give all the information away that could lead Robin to him.

Robin paused. There was one way he could find out who it was quickly. He could hack into their computer and see what was going on. Robin tried finding an IP address from the DS but couldn't. He tried other methods of hacking when another message appeared.

**DS: Have I scared you off?**

Robin was tempted to answer with telling him he knew he was a criminal, but then the thought occurred to Robin. If he got the criminal to open up to him, he might be able to track him down that way. Since none of the hacking methods had worked, he needed to play the game with this guy.

**Red Bird: No sorry. Just got distracted.**

**DS: Researching?**

**Red Bird: Something like that.**

**DS: Something bothering you?**

**Red Bird: No. Why?**

**DS: You're demeanor towards me seems to have changed.**

**Red Bird: I supposed I'm confused when you said you're not a normal citizen.**

**DS: Just that. I'm a citizen, but not a normal one.**

**Red Bird: Okay. What's the speech over?**

**DS: If I told you, it wouldn't be so much of a surprise would it?**

**Red Bird: It doesn't have to be a surprise. You could just tell me.**

**DS: No. But if you're so curious, take a guess.**

**Red Bird: Explosives?**

**DS: Explosives huh? That's an odd thing to guess for a motivational speech.**

**Red Bird: Was it right?**

**DS: No.**

**Red Bird: Guess I'm no good at this, you should just tell me.**

**DS: I'll tell you tomorrow.**

**Red Bird: When?**

**DS: It's a surprise.**

**Red Bird: You're doing this to mess with me, aren't you?**

**DS: Of course. But you shouldn't be concern with me right now.**

**Red Bird: Why not?**

**DS: Wait for it.**

Suddenly the alarm went off in Titans Tower. Robin shut his laptop and went to check out what was happening.

**AN: Yay! Another chapter. R&amp;R! Also, if anyone has ideas on what to do with this story, you should tell me!**


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